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Princely arms of the Pálffy family (hart and wheel)

The House of Pálffy, also known as Pálffy von Erdöd, Pálffy de Erdöd, or Pálffy of Erdöd, is the name of an old Hungarian noble family, later incorporated into Austrian nobility. Members of the family held significant positions in the Habsburg monarchy.

History

The Hungarian name Pálffy derives from the Latin term Pauli filius (son of Paul), after the first known ancestor of the family.^[1]^[2]

Erdőd is the Hungarian name for Ardud, a town situated in Transylvania.

The Pálffy ab Erdöd family members bore as well the title of Baron or Baroness of Újezd, of the name of their Czech barony of Újezd.

The family crest is of a deer above a wooden wheel which was created supposedly after an incident in the forest. The legend says that members of the Pálffy family were travelling in a horse-drawn carriage in the forest at night and in the mist when a deer shot out from the forest and hit the side of the carriage, breaking a wheel and killing the deer. The entourage decided to stay there until morning to fix the wheel. When morning arrived and the mist had cleared, they had stopped just before a cliff edge so the family realised that deer had saved their lives. In its honour, the family crest was created.

In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, the family owned many castles and large residences. It's said that they owned up to 99 castles.

Notable members

Paul Pálffy ab Erdöd (1580/1589–1653), Palatine of Hungary, Knight of the Golden Fleece
Nikolaus VI Graf Pálffy ab Erdöd (1657/67–1732), field marshal and Palatine of Hungary, Knight of the Golden Fleece
Johann Bernhard Stephan, Graf Pálffy ab Erdöd (1664–1751), field marshal, Knight of the Golden Fleece
Countess Maria Augustina Pálffy ab Erdöd (1714–1759), mother of Joseph, Count Kinsky and Franz Joseph, Count Kinsky
Leopold, Count Pálffy-Daun von Erdöd (1716–1773), field marshal
Karl, Count Palffy ab Erdöd (1735–1816), Knight of the Golden Fleece
Count Ferdinand Pálffy von Erdöd (1774–1840), mining engineer and civil servant of the Austrian Empire
Count Fidelius Pálffy ab Erdöd (1788–1864), Knight of the Golden Fleece
Count Moritz Pálffy ab Erdöd (1812–1897), Knight of the Golden Fleece
Count Paul Pálffy ab Erdöd (1890–1968), Hungarian sportsman^[3]
Count Fidél Pálffy ab Erdőd (1895–1946), Hungarian politician
Ferdinand Leopold Graf Pálffy-Daun ab Erdöd, honorary citizen of Vienna
Count Geza Palffy ab Erdod, Member of parliament and resistance fighter, highlighted in the Terror Museum

Possessions

Palaces in Vienna, Bratislava and Prague that bear the family name:

Palais Pálffy in Vienna, Innere Stadt, Josefsplatz
Palais Pálffy in Vienna, Innere Stadt, Wallnerstraße Street
Pálffy Palace in Bratislava, Old Town, Hviezdoslavovo námestie
Pálffy Palace in Bratislava, Old Town, Ventúrska Street
Pálffy Palace in Bratislava, Old Town, Panská Street
Pálffy Palace in Bratislava, Old Town, Podhradie, Zámocká Street
Pálffy Palace in Bratislava, Old Town, Laurinská Street
Pálffy Palace in Bratislava, Old Town, Gorkého Street (demolished)
Pálffy Palace in Prague, Malá Strana
Pálffy Palace (Pálffy-kastély) in Budapest, Hungary

The Pálffy family tomb:

Franciscan Monastery in Malacky

The castles and manors owned by the Pálffy family were:

Devín Castle (Thebes) at the confluence of the March and Danube rivers, Slovakia (from 1635)
Burg Ballenstein and Schloss Stampfen in Stupava (Stampfen), Slovakia
Červený Kameň Castle (Beaver Castle), Slovakia (1583 to 1945)
Burg Blasenstein (Plavecký hrad) and the castle in Plasenstein, Slovakia (from 1641)
Schloss Marchegg, Lower Austria (1623 to 1957)
Schloss Krumbach, Lower Austria (1629 to 1875)
Burg Neulengbach, Lower Austria (1646 to 1696)
Schloss Bojnice, Slovakia (1646 to 1939)
Schloss Stübing, Styria
Schloss Malacky (Malatzka), Slovakia (17th to 20th centuries)
Schloss Pezinok, Slovakia (17th to 20th century)
Burg Heidenreichstein, Lower Austria (1679 to 1947)
Smolenice Castle, Slovakia (1777 to 1945)
Hunting lodge Kráľová pri Senci, Slovakia
Hunting lodge Chtelnica, Slovakia
Landsitz Pálffy, Pölöskefő, Zala County, Hungary
Schloss Březnice, Bohemia (1872–1945)
Schloss Slavkov (Austerlitz) Castle, Moravia (1919–1948)